About our Daughter

I am mother to four wonderful daughters, ages 17, 19, 21, and 23, and wife to the greatest husband on earth. God has given us a special child to raise one who was diagnosed with early-onset bipolar disorder at the age of seven, though she showed signs of it from the age of fifteen months. She also has ADHD, Sensory Integration Disorder (sensory seeking), Dyslexia, and Non-Verbal Learning Disorder-NOS, all typical comorbidities for a bipolar child. In spite of the trials, she enjoys lacrosse, running (finished her first marathon in October of 2014!), and reading and writing her own books. I will share with you the many joys and sorrows we have faced and will face in the future with the hope that you may find better understanding about this mental illness caused by both chemical and structural abnormalities in the brain. I desire that you will be encouraged by this blog if you are also dealing with a bipolar child. Thank you for reading and sharing in our journey.

How Did You Know She Was Bipolar So Young?

I wrote a long explanation of how we came to this bipolar diagnosis in a child so young under my post of March 19th of 2009. If your child or a child you know bears similarities, please seek out a good psychiatrist and don't wait for "things to get better." Often they will simply get worse, and the longer a child is unmedicated, the more damage their brain can accrue. Early diagnoses and treatment are key to providing these children with a chance at a successful life later as a teen and an adult.
Never change, start or stop a medication without the approval of your child's physician!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Decided Florida was Too Far

With airplane tickets way too high right now, we decided to cancel our Destin, FL reservations, which would have been a 20 hour drive, and go to Hilton Head, SC instead, a mere 6 to 8 hours away. When you have a bipolar child, you can't push the travel thing too far. Oh well, Destin can wait.
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4 comments:

Accidental Expert said...

Sounds like a good plan to me. Oh, what I'd give to go to the beach!

March 10, 2010 at 11:48 PM
CC said...

I found your blog yesterday and it is a complete Godsend. I feel you are a kindred spirit. I too have a bipolar daughter (15) and I can relate to everything I've read so far. My daughter started out with ADHD and I knew something wasn't right with her when she was just a toddler. This journey has been long, difficult, scary, sad, humiliating, and isolating. I'm a single parent, and I feel so alone. I don't know anyone else who is dealing with these kinds of issues. I would like to find a support group for my daughter, where she can talk to others like herself. Do you know of any? Are there any support groups for parents? Thank you so, so much for sharing your story. I don't feel so alone anymore. And you've given me a wealth of knowledge to explore and talk with the psychiatrist about. I'm sure I'll be leaving comments from time to time. God bless you and your family... and especially Caroline.

March 11, 2010 at 1:28 AM
Megan said...

Hi Camille! I am always glad when someone finds my blog and feels a kinship. This journey is very hard, at times devastating, and we do need each other. There is a great online support group through the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation. You can find the link on my page. They will hook you up with other parents of teens, and they may have one specific to single parents. I have found more wisdom and knowledge there than from most of our psychiatrists! Also, NAMI frequently has local support groups, so check out the link on my page as well. Have hope! If these kids are on the right med mix (which can take a lot of trial and error) and they learn that they must stay on their meds forever, and they get great counseling, they can be very successful. I believe that 100%.

March 11, 2010 at 9:51 AM
Meg said...

Hilton Head is wonderful. Have a great trip!

March 11, 2010 at 11:29 AM

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